Improvement in postage-stamp holders



.P. W. HALL Postage-Stamp Holder.

No, 161,225 PatentedMarch23,l875.

WITNESSES" I -|NVENTOR i 77 Md C. DOM mizvs THE GRAPHIC C(LPHOTO -LITH.39 84-1 PARK FLAG LILY.

UNITED STATES PHIDELLO W. HALL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN POSTAGE'STAMP HQLDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 161,225, dated March 23, 1875; application filed January 13, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHIDELLO W. HALL, of St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and I in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Postage- Stamp Holders; and do herebydeclare that the 1 following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being nying drawings, and to i once marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

age-stamp holder. views of the same.

had to the accompathe letters of refer- The nature of my invention consists in the 1 construction and arrangement of a box or device for holding postage-stamps, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my post- Figs. 2 and 3 are detailed A represents a box, made of sheet metal or other suitable material. The interior of the box A should be as long as a postage-stamp, or a little longer, and it should be not quite as wide as the stamp. One end of the box Ais open, and provided with a slide, B, which slips in from above, and has a projection, 11, atl'eaoh end, near the upper edge, to prevent at from passing down too fa", and giving sufficient space for the stamp to pass out when the pressure is applied by the finger or thumb. Phe sides of the box A are bent over inward, :brming flanges a a, against which a convex plate, 0, is held by means of one or more springs, D.

I In the drawing, I have shown a single coillpring, placed nearer the rear end than the rent, so that the pressure will be greater belllld. This spring is also made small at the bp and larger at the bottom, so that it does :ot occupy a space thicker than the wire. Phe top of the spring is made fast to the :late or apron (l, leaving the lower end free, 0 that the apron and spring can be drawn ill; at pleasure. At the top of each side, im-

mediately below the flange a, is formed a Ion gitudinal groove, :12, on the inside of the box, which grooves relieve the pressure from the edges of the upper stamp, and also form ridges 3 on the outside, to hold the lid Gin place. The lid is made concave on its under side, to correspond with the shape of the apron O. 4

The stamps are placed on the plate G and held, by the action of the spring D thereon, against the flanges a a. By the box being not quite as wide as the postage-stamps, the stamps are slightly contracted, and their edges press lightly against the sides of the box, while the pressure on the top stamp is relieved by the grooves 00, so that it can be easily drawn ofi by the friction and pressure of the thumb or forefinger, the lid G being first drawn back a short distance, as shown in Fig. 1.

The inner sides of the box should be roughened by longitudinal grooves, for the purpose of preventing the stamps from slipping more on one side than on the other, and also to act as guides for the stamps. The upper surface of the apron 0 may also be roughened in any suitable manner, to prevent the last stamp from sticking to the same.

Instead of a sliding lid, as shown, the lid may be hinged to the box, if so desired.

This device may be used for street-car or other tickets, as Well as for postage-stamps.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The within-described stamp-holder, consisting of the box A, provided with flanges a. a, interior grooves 00, and exterior ribs 3 the apron 0, one or more springs, D, slide B, and cover G, all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of J. A. BEAL, FRED. BREITENSTEIN. 

